There was plenty of reason for optimism after a strong first half of play had the Bucs in the lead by a score of 14-3 Womens Vita Vea Jersey , but a blocked punt and no second-half offense doomed the team.Outside of a bad drop by Peyton Barber on the first play, things couldn’t have gone better for Tampa Bay on the first drive of the game. Winston came out and hit Mike Evans on a perfect deep ball for a 36-yard completion on the next play. Barber took a run up the middle of the defense for 13 yards and then Winston scrambled away from pressure and added 14 more yards on the next play. The Bucs were in business at the Saints’ 12-yard line just four plays into the game.Winston then found Cameron Brate on a beautiful back shoulder throw in the end zone on 3rd-and-9 for the game’s first points. Cairo Santos nailed the extra point and the Bucs led, 7-0.Terron Armstead’s injury reared it’s ugly head early on as a holding penalty on Jermaine Bushrod - Armstead’s replacement - put the Saints behind the sticks and they couldn’t recover. They had to punt the ball from midfield and the Bucs took over at their own 25. A defensive pass interference call prevented Tampa Bay from going three-and-out. A few plays later, wide receiver Adam Humphries too a huge hit while catching a pass over the middle for a first down on 3rd-and-7. It was a major lick from Saints’ safety Marcus Williams, one big enough to cause Humphries’ helmet to come off as he hit the ground. Hump just popped back up, hyped more than ever and ready to go. But Winston and Humphries couldn’t connect on the next third down try and the Bucs had to punt. Carl Nassib came crashing through the offensive line and took down Alvin Kamara for an eight-yard loss on second down that forced New Orleans into just their 17th three-and-out of the season. Tampa Bay was able to drive all the way down to the Saints’ 20 thanks to some big throws and a big run from Winston, but a gaffe by Donovan Smith on 3rd-and-9 led to the Saints’ first sack of the game. The eight yard loss put Cairo Santos in position to attempt a 46-yard field goal. The kick looked like it was going to sail through the uprights until it curved at the last second and bounced off the right upright. Brees and the Saints started at their own 36 after the miss and Brees immediately came out and found Thomas for a 17-yard pass that put them in Tampa Bay territory. Another big reception by Thomas on 3rd-and-4 put the Saints in the red zone, but Tampa Bay’s defense held them to a 30-yard field goal and Will Lutz knocked it through. Tampa Bay’s lead was now 7-3. The Bucs ran into a bit of luck after Chris Godwin fumbled his first reception of the day, only to have Brate fall on top of it. Multiple, idiotic penalties by several players on offense over the course of the next few plays saw the Bucs punt the ball back into the waiting arms of the Saints.Now, the visiting team had a chance to score before halftime and would receive the ball after the half. This would be a big drive for the Tampa Bay defense. The Bucs tried to challenge a questionable no-call on a Kamara fumble, but there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the down-by-contact call on the field. As it turns out, Tampa Bay didn’t need that call to go their way, after all. Adarius Taylor read a Saints’ screen perfectly and stepped in front of throw to make the interception. He was able to rumble down the field for seven yards to the New Orleans 39-yard line. The defense did its part, now it was the offense’s turn.An illegal hit on a defenseless receiver call opened up the drive and Tampa Bay was able to take advantage, but it was Winston who made the play of the game up until this point. He made multiple defenders miss on an exciting scramble and was able to find an open Humphries just before he crossed the line of scrimmage. Humphries was able to take the ball all the way inside the Saints’ one-yard line, stopping just short of the goal line. Winston found Brate for the second time of the first half in the back of the end zone off a play fake and the Bucs extended their lead to 14-3.The touchdown didn’t come without a price, however, as Demar Dotson landed on Winston’s plant leg. The quarterback looked to be in some major pain and went into the locker room early. The Bucs went 5/8 on third down in the first half www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com , compared to 2/5 from the Saints. The most impressive stat was Tampa Bay’s run defense. They allowed just three yards on the ground through the first two quarters. The defense picked right up where it left off in the first half. Nassib came flying off the edge on second down and was able to knock the ball out of Brees’ hands. Jason Pierre-Paul was able to recover the ball and complete the strip-sack play. But the Saints held strong on defense and forced another field goal attempt. This time, it was from 40-yards out and this one had no chance. Santos and the Bucs watched it sail wide left and the Saints were spared three points. Fortunately, Tampa Bay has Vinny Curry on their side. He was able to crash through theB-gap and take Ingram down behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-1. It was the second three-and-out for the defense and the Saints had to punt. More outstanding scrambling from Winston and a big catch by Evans helped Tampa Bay move the ball, but a big Godwin drop left the Bucs in punting position. New Orleans’ special teams came up with the biggest play of the day and blocked the Bucs’ punt. The Saints were in business as they took over at the Tampa Bay 30.Mark Ingram rumbled down to the Bucs’ 11 for 19 yards and a few players later, Brees found a wide open Zach Line for the Saint’s first touchdown of the game. Alvin Kamara then ran in the two-point conversion on a quick toss to the left to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to three points, 14-11. The second half struggles continued for the offense on the next drive. Winston was sacked twice and the end result was a three-and-out. How ironic is it that at this point, it was the defense that needed to bail this team out?Brees came out and hit Johnny Lee-Lewis for a 20-yard completion right off the bat. The Saints quarterback was then able to wait out the pressure and find Kamara for a first down on a 3rd-and-2. The Bucs’ defense was able to force the Saints’ offense into a 4th-and-goal from inside the one-yard line, but Brees leapt over the entire defensive line and was able to get the ball over the goal line. The extra point was good and the Saints now led, 18-11.Tampa Bay couldn’t do anything with the ball on their next drive and the Saints took over. A big reception on third down by Michael Thomas sparked the rest of the drive that ended with an Ingram touchdown to run. It was the dagger the Saints needed and they now led 25-14 with about seven and a half minutes to play. Both teams exchanged possessions until the Saints drove down and hit a late field goal to make it a 28-14 final. Tampa Bay is now (5-8) on the season. They will travel to Baltimore next weekend. Kickoff is set for 1PM EST. Pack it in. Close it up. It’s a wrap. The slim postseason hopes the Buccaneers had kept alive with their back-to-back wins evaporated when the offense imploded in the second half, allowing the Saints to overcome a 14-3 halftime deficit in route to a 28-14 win, clinching the NFC South title.The fact of the matter is, the Saints made halftime adjustments and the Bucs did not. The offense had less than 100 yards in the second half and couldn’t convert any points off of a Carl Nassib strip of Drew Brees on the opening drive of the third quarter.Let’s pick six.Six Topics Suitable For Conversation1.) Back Up The Uhaul. Dirk Koetter and his staff are out of here. There’s no salvaging anything now. The Bucs had arguably the best team in the NFL on the ropes, they were leading the turnover battle 2-0 (it ended up being 2-1 with Winston’s last second hail mary interception), and somehow found a way to completely shoot themselves in the foot. The asinine penalties (we’ll get to that in a minute), the inept play calling, all of it. For a team that started off hotter than Hades, to fall apart the way they did falls on the coaching, the leadership, and the horrendous lack of adjustments both at halftime and in game. Sorry Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-Shirt , Dirk ol’ boy - you’re gone.2.) Back Up Another One. For this whole freaking pathetic excuse for an offensive line. Donovan Smith is good for two things: penalties and missing blocks. Caleb Benenoch? Turnstile. Ryan Jensen? Overpaid, penalty prone hot head. Demar Dotson? Good for a long time, but too old and slow to keep pace anymore. The only one worth a damn is Ali Marpet. At one point, Jensen and Smith combined for thirty penalty yards ON ONE DRIVE. Jensen and Winston got into it on the sideline and - somehow the offensive line did worse afterwards. It’s actually borderline impressive how bad the line is at times. Start with Warhop and go down the line and throw all their crap in the truck and get them outta town.3.) Santos Claus Did Not Come To Town. Rough day for the kicking game again. In nasty, wet conditions and with as windy as it was, I’m not going to crush Santos for that. Despite some troll trying to tell me on Twitter that those were “chip shots”, a 48-yarder and 40-yarder are no gimmies in the world of kicking. The 48-yarder doinked off the post while the 40-yarder got carried wide right by the wind. Those six points would have gone a long way in giving the Bucs a chance at the end of the game, but this loss certainly isn’t on Cairo.4.) Jameis Winston Wasn’t Great. The pressure didn’t help matters, but Winston was off on a lot of his passes on Sunday. He and Chris Godwin couldn’t get on the same page, he was high on a lot of his passes, and Mike Evans didn’t get nearly enough targets. Winston’s use of his legs was spot on yet again, but the lack of connection in the passing game caused a lot of problems in the second half. The interception at the end of the game ended his turnover streak, but that pick falls in the same category as the one against the Giants. It was a last ditch effort in a low percentage situation - not really a poor decision. Visor Jameis is still the best Jameis, but he didn’t have a stellar day.5.) Bucs Should Change Their Main Color To Yellow. Considering all the flags that get thrown against them, it would be like the referees are celebrating for the Bucs on what seems like every play. The Bucs finished with ten penalties for 84 yards. These penalties were drive killers and ultimately game killers. When you even get called on a kick return for double teaming one defender, there’s problems. Once again, it goes back to coaching. It goes back to leadership. It goes back to having a disciplined, intelligent football team. The Buccaneers are not that.6.) Have The Bucs Won For The Last Time This Season? With as demoralizing and frustrating as the loss Sunday was, do the Bucs have another win left in them? With Baltimore Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats , Dallas, and Atlanta left, the Bucs may finish out 5-11. Dallas is red hot, Baltimore took Kansas City to the wire, and the Falcons don’t seem to have too many problems against the Bucs. I guess it could be somewhat fitting to have Mike Smith fire after the first Falcons game to then see Koetter let go following the second...Six Numbers To Consider23 - Career touchdowns by Cam Brate, eighth most in team history31 - Passing touchdowns by the Bucs this season - most in team history9 - Seasons the Bucs will not be over .500 since their last playoff appearance (2007)+7 - Bucs’ turnover differential the last three weeks. They are now 2-1 in those games2 - Forced fumbles by Carl Nassib this season (PAY THE MAN)3 - More weeks of this torturous seasonSix Things To Ask Santa For - Bucs Edition6.) A brand new left tackle, one that blocks with no flags5.) A new starting corner who breaks up passes and brags4.) How bout a right guard who’s so tough and so mean?3.) Bring back Nassib and Humphries, yes show them the green!2.) A back mate for Barber, as fast as can be1.) A brand new coach staff, yes THAT is the key!Six Things To Perk Up Your Monday6.) Listen to Christmas music! ‘Tis the season and that’ll make anyone smile!5.) Watch highlights of the Browns/Panthers game. Any time Cam Newton pouts, I know I get a big smile on my face4.) Remind yourself that Tampa Bay is also the home of the Lightning - the best team in hockey3.) Watch the Avengers: Endgame trailer on a loop2.) Celebrate the reuniting of Hootie And The Blowfish by dusting off your old “Cracked Rear View” CD and blasting that thing all day long!1.) Remind yourself that this is almost over. And this time it won’t be a full-fledged rebuilt. Most of the pieces are in place and with the right hires, this is a playoff team next year.Six Super Bowl Bets*As always, the list is compiled before the conclusion of Sunday Night Football*1.) Los Angeles Rams - The class of the NFL2.) New Orleans Saints - Already beat the Rams once and currently keeping pace3.) Kansas City Chiefs - Pat Mahomes out there trying to ruin me in the first round of the fantasy playoffs...4.) Dallas Cowboys - I don’t understand how this team is all of a sudden one of the hottest teams in football after adding...Amari Cooper?5.) Los Angeles Chargers - With the Pats and Steelers faltering, this could finally be Philip Rivers’ chance26.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Another losing season on the horizon and another off-season of questions, pursuits, and hopes gradually buildingSix Final WordsDon’t Screw Up The Coaching Search